Undergraduate Enrollment Policies

Readmission

Undergraduates are expected to maintain continuous registration from the time they matriculate until they graduate. Students who will not maintain continuous registration for any reason should consult with an adviser about whether to request a leave of absence because there may be financial aid or re-admission implications if a student leaves without a leave of absence.

Leave of Absence and Reinstatement

Periodically students must interrupt their enrollment for a variety of reasons. Allowing students to take a “leave of absence” provides students the opportunity to return to the University under the rules and policies in effect when they left. It also allows the University the opportunity to counsel students about the required actions to return upon the end of the leave. This policy implements criteria and requirements for accreditation established by the Higher Learning Commission.

  1. Students in good academic standing will ordinarily be granted a leave of absence upon request. The term of the leave must be specified and may not exceed two years. (Study abroad may or may not require a leave of absence.)
  2. All colleges will have a process for implementing this policy.
  3. Students who follow the college process and whose leave is approved in accordance with this policy need not apply for re-admission when they return, and students may return before the expiration of the leave. Whether the student returns early or at the expiration of the leave, colleges may condition the timing of re-admission to a program on availability of space. Re-admission may be denied based on crimes or other serious misconduct occurring during the leave that would have been grounds for suspension or expulsion had the student engaged in the conduct while enrolled (see Board of Regents Policy: Student Conduct Code.)
  4. Undergraduates who fail to register for a semester (excluding summer) (Twin Cities and Rochester) or two semesters (Morris) and who have not been granted a leave of absence or whose leave of absence has expired will be placed on “inactive” status. Students who are placed on Inactive status must obtain permission to be re-admitted to a program. Students in good academic standing at the time they became Inactive normally should be allowed to return to Active status. Students on Inactive status must contact their college office for approval to regain Active status before registering for another term.
  5. At the time of matriculation, students should be informed about both the consequences of Inactive status and the University’s policy, including whether re-admission after a period of Inactive status is dependent on availability of space in the program.
  6. A student who has left the University without a leave of absence for more than two consecutive semesters (not including summer session) may be held to new program requirements upon his or her return. A student returning after one year or less will be allowed to follow the program requirements.

More information and the appropriate forms for both the Leave of Absence and the Leave of Absence Reinstatement are found at this location: http://policy.umn.edu/education/readmissionloa

Petitions

Academic Policy Petition. Used for requesting acceptance of transfer credits, extension to the time limit for completing program, and course substitutions for degree requirements. The form is located on the One Stop forms website: www.onestop.umn.edu/forms/index.html (under the Registration Forms section).

This form is only in a paper version (not electronic) so it will need to be filled out and printed. Obtain departmental and/or faculty recommendations as appropriate for the petition type and attach any necessary documentation.

For requests to have coursework from outside institutions applied to your degree plan, you must have an official transcript (original in a sealed envelope) attached to the petition. If your faculty adviser needs to review your transcript before signing off on the departmental recommendation, please ask them to sign the back of the official transcript envelope verifying that it was sealed at the point of review, and include this signed envelope and the transcript with your petition.

You will be notified through your U of MN email regarding the final decision.

For additional information on transferring credits please visit: http://www.cehd.umn.edu/undergraduate/transfer/credits

Degree Progress Expectations and Review for Undergraduate Licensure Program

Student progress in the Licensure Program is two-fold: (1) progress toward a license in the student’s chosen teaching area, and (2) progress toward completing the degree. Following are the expectations for Licensure Program students to remain in good standing in terms of progress expectations toward both of these program outcomes.

  • Minimum GPA expectation: Successful demonstration of competencies as specified in state and national standards is essential for effective teaching. Students must have a 2.8 GPA in their licensure coursework, in addition to meeting the University’s requirements for standard academic process.
  • Professional performance in preparation for teaching: students must make satisfactory progress throughout the program preparing them to teach by demonstrating the knowledge, skills, and dispositions as set forth in the standards and in our assessment For further information see the sections on MN Standards of Effective Practice, the MN Code of Ethics for Teachers, and Teacher Candidate Assessment and Evaluation.

If students do not maintain satisfactory progress in all of these areas of expectation, they may be placed on a Progress Warning status, where clear expectations will be communicated to them about improvements needed.

Degree Progress Review for Licensure

End of semester review – at the end of each semester, student records will be reviewed in the department, and students will be informed if they have fallen below minimum academic expectations for GPA and completion of course credits by the start of the following semester. Falling below academic expectations will result in a Progress Warning notification, with clear expectations delineated for the student to continue in the program.

Where students have received an earlier Progress Warning with academic expectations delineated, the student’s progress toward meeting these expectations will be evaluated, and the student will be informed about the outcome of the review and any actions that will be taken. This timely and clear communication of the status of the review will also include information about students’ due process rights under University policies.

Throughout the program – professional performance assessments are conducted throughout the program, and a professional performance review is completed prior to students being placed in their final student teaching experience. Failure to meet professional performance expectations can result in a Progress Warning at any time during the program.

Students receiving a Progress Warning as a result of concerns about meeting professional performance

standards may be invited to discuss the situation with the lead faculty member in their program. Expectations will be discussed at that meeting. A formal communication about expectations will also be communicated in writing, and will be part of the student’s advising record.

Academic Probation and Suspension

A. Probation

  1. A student will be placed on probation(and will remain on probation) if either the term or the cumulative GPA is below 2.000. A student on probation will have a hold placed on his or her record and must see an adviser in order to register.
  2. Academic contract.Colleges may develop contracts specifying additional requirements that students enrolled in that college must meet to be removed from probation or to register for classes while on probation. The academic contract may include GPA expectations more rigorous than the 2.000 term and cumulative GPA minimum standard, where programmatically warranted and where clearly communicated to the student. If the student meets the conditions of the contract, and the term and cumulative GPA are at least 2.000, the student will be removed from probation. Even if the contract conditions are met, the student must still meet the minimum GPA requirements of this policy. If the conditions of the contract are not met, the student will be suspended.
  3. Registering while on probation.Students will be given an override for the probation hold to enable them to register when they have met with an adviser and, if a contract is required, when the student’s academic adviser and college office are satisfied that the conditions of the contract have been met.

B. Suspension

  1. A student is suspended if
    1. at the end of the probation term (semester), both the term and the cumulative GPA are below 2.000, or
    2. the conditions of an academic contract are not fulfilled. The suspension is effective immediately.
  2. Consequences of suspension.When suspended, a student is no longer in the program and cannot register for any University courses for at least one full academic year. All colleges and campuses at the University must recognize the probationary holds and will not allow students, including non-degree seeking students, with these holds to register without the approval of the college placing the hold.
  3. Appealing suspension decisions.Students may appeal suspension decisions or petition for re-admission in writing to the college’s Student Scholastic Standing Committee (SSSC) according to a defined collegiate petition process.
  4. Re-admission after suspension.Re-admission after a period of suspension is not automatic. To be re-admitted, a student must show evidence of changes in circumstances that demonstrate that he or she will succeed in an academic program.
  5. Returning to the college or a different college after suspension.Upon return to the college after petitioning to reenter, students will be placed on probation, and all colleges will use a probation hold and contract for the purpose of monitoring the student’s performance. If the student does not successfully complete the contract, he or she will be suspended again, but then will be required to reapply for admission to a college, rather than petition to reenter.